MSCA Fellowship - PhD Student (Fixed Term)
We are seeking to recruit an exceptional Doctoral (PhD) Candidate to join the new MSCA Doctoral Network ComeInCell (https://www.comeincell.org/). The candidate will enrol for a PhD in Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Prof. Lorenzo Di Michele.
ComeInCell offers a unique opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research in the field of Synthetic Biology, working at the intersection of biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The project will explore how membranes and condensates together regulate protein function and drive cellular processes, towards development of innovative biomimetic platforms. These platforms will provide a deeper understanding of essential cellular processes like membrane trafficking and pathologies like neurodegenerative diseases and will open new avenues for drug discovery and therapeutic interventions. Successful candidates will benefit from a diverse and interdisciplinary training program, including secondments in leading labs and collaborations with industry partners. Our network fosters a rich environment for innovation and skill development, equipping students to lead in both academic and industrial sectors.
We have recently developed technologies to produce synthetic RNA condensates with prescribed number, size, shape, composition, material properties and the ability to selectively recruit protein clients. These condensates form co-transcriptionally in synthetic cells. With this project, we aim to engineer interactions between the synthetic RNA condensates and synthetic cell membranes to induce controlled membrane deformation, patterning, and division-like behaviours. Condensate/membrane affinity can be programmed using electrostatics or specifically with either amphiphilic nucleic acid linkers or aptamers targeting membrane proteins. Specific objectives include: 1) Build synthetic cells that can express RNA condensates with controlled affinity for the membrane; 2) Exploit processes such as condensate growth, degradation and internal phase separation to deform and manipulate the membranes (e.g. stabilizing non-spherical morphologies; controlling lipid domain formation, size and distribution; inducing membrane rupture or membrane fission).
The project involves secondments at the Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry (Munich, Germany) in the group of Prof. Petra Schwille and at Imperial College London in the group of Dr Claudia Contini.
Please see full information about the programme at https://www.comeincell.org/.
The successful candidate would be employed as a Research Assistant and they must apply for admission as a PhD student with the University and be able to meet our criteria for admission. For further information please visit: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng?gl=1e6nc7rgaNjM2MTY3Nzk3LjE2NjcyOTg0MTc.gaP8Q1QT5W4K*MTY2ODE2MzI4Ny44LjEuMTY2ODE2MzI5MC4wLjAuMA
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Should you require any further details on the role please contact Prof. Lorenzo Di Michele at ld389@cam.ac.uk. If you have questions on the application process, please email Mrs Alessandra Uomo, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications is 6th January 2025.
Interviews are likely to be held soon after the closing date.
Please quote reference NQ44098 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
A post-doctoral research assistant/associate position is available at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, in the Computational Modelling Group under the supervision of Prof. Markus Kraft.
The successful candidate will join a multi-disciplinary team developing methods for the digital discovery of reticular materials. To date, the team has mined the literature to create a database of materials, developed data structures to describe the Lego-like nature of the materials, developed algorithms that exploit the data structures to predict the existence of new materials, calculated the properties of known and predicted materials, and used large language models to extract information from the literature about synthesis processes, and predict the process steps required to synthesise new materials. The vision of the team is to automate the discovery and synthesis of materials with properties that are tuned for specific applications.
The work forms part of The World Avatar (TWA) project, a disruptive approach pioneered by Prof. Kraft to leverage knowledge-based technology to share data and create interoperability across different technical and social domains. Further information is available at https://como.ceb.cam.ac.uk/research/twa/
Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD; those without a PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.
Applicants must have:
- A Master's or PhD degree or equivalent experience in a relevant science or engineering discipline (essential).
- Excellent oral and written communication skills (essential).
- An interdisciplinary and collaborative research approach (essential).
- The ability to work as part of a dynamic, multidisciplinary team (essential).
- A developing bibliography of publications in a relevant research area (desirable).
- Experience in quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics or other aspects of computational chemistry (desirable).
- Experience in other areas of science relevant to the vision described above (desirable).
- Experience in software engineering using Java, JavaScript, Python or other languages (desirable).
Further information about the Computational Modelling Group can be found at https://como.ceb.cam.ac.uk.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 9 months in the first instance.
We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mrs Alessandra Uomo, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications is 30th November 2024.
Please quote reference NQ43819 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
A position is available at the University of Cambridge in the Computational Modelling Group under the supervision of Prof. Markus Kraft. The successful candidate will join a multi-disciplinary team to develop and test modelling and digital twinning approaches to enable the planning of distributed energy systems. In collaboration with researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the successful candidate will assess the performance of existing modelling solutions for different components of the overall problem and develop and will work with the team to implement a digital twinning approach that combines them to enable data-driven energy system planning and scenario analysis.
The digital twinning aspects of the project will leverage knowledge-based technology known as The World Avatar (TWA) pioneered by Prof. Kraft to enable the holistic integration of data and computational models, leveraging increasingly digitalised descriptions of the built environment alongside the ability to investigate the consequences of complex what-if questions. The vision is to move beyond one-time workflows that process fixed sets of data, and beyond approaches that make assumptions to address a lack of data. Rather, the envisaged approach would enable the comprehensive dynamic evaluation of urban energy systems, adapting to new data as it becomes available and supporting the planning of future energy systems. Further information is available at https://como.ceb.cam.ac.uk/research/twa/
Appointment at Research Associate level is dependent on having a PhD; those without a PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, which will be amended to Research Associate once the PhD has been awarded.
Applicants must have:
- A Master's or PhD degree or equivalent experience in a relevant science or engineering discipline (essential).
- Excellent oral and written communication skills (essential).
- An interdisciplinary and collaborative research approach (essential).
- The ability to work as part of a dynamic, multidisciplinary team (essential).
- A developing bibliography of publications in a relevant research area (desirable).
- Experience with energy system modelling (desirable).
- Experience working with data describing the built environment (desirable).
- Experience in software engineering using Java, Python or other programming languages (desirable).
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 9 months in the first instance.
Further information about the Computational Modelling Group can be found at https://como.ceb.cam.ac.uk.
We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mrs Alessandra Uomo, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications is 30th November 2024.
Please quote reference NQ43821 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
MSCA Research Fellow (Fixed Term)
The Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology is seeking a person interested in obtaining a PhD in the area of novel methods of chemical processes development based on machine learning and high throughput flow synthesis technology. The successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. Alexei Lapkin and take part in the "Synthesis of new active materials for flow batteries" project, which is part of the European Doctoral Network "PREDICTOR": High-throughput screening, synthesis and characterization of active materials for flow batteries.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks are joint research and training projects funded by the European Union. Funding is provided for doctoral candidates from both inside and outside Europe to carry out individual project work in a European country other than their own. The training network "PREDICTOR" is made up of 22 partners, coordinated by Fraunhofer ICT in Germany. The network will recruit a total of 17 doctoral candidates for project work lasting for 36 months.
PREDICTOR aims to establish a rapid, high-throughput method to identify and develop materials for electrochemical energy storage. It will enable the rapid identification, synthesis and characterization of materials within a coherent development chain, replacing conventional trial-and-error developments. To validate the PREDICTOR system, the case study will be active materials and electrolytes for redox-flow batteries. Within the project, three demonstrator battery cells (TRL3-4) will be assembled and tested with the newly developed materials.
As part of the project, the post holder might take on short secondments in PREDICTOR academic and industrial partners.
MSCA-recruiting rules are also applied:
The salary and benefit will follow the principles of the Marie Curie Doctoral Network Scheme as underwritten by the UKRI. Living allowance, mobility allowance and, if appropriate, family allowance, will be paid in GBP at a fixed exchange rate of 1.148787.
The successful candidate would be employed as a Research Assistant and they must apply for admission as a PhD student with the University and be able to meet our criteria for admission. For further information please visit: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcepdcng?gl=1e6nc7rgaNjM2MTY3Nzk3LjE2NjcyOTg0MTc.gaP8Q1QT5W4K*MTY2ODE2MzI4Ny44LjEuMTY2ODE2MzI5MC4wLjAuMA
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to Mrs Alessandra Uomo, HR Administrator, at hr@ceb.cam.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications is 30th November 2024.
Please quote reference NQ43593 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.